Afghanistan: Lending interest rate (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Afghanistan's lending interest rate (%) fell 0.16 percentage points on 2016 (from 15% to 14.84%).

Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2016), the average change was −0.3 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.06 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.61 percentage points in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.22 percentage points in 2008. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 13% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

Closest to Afghanistan in the 2017 ranking

• Venezuela, RB — 1st of 5: 21.06%
• Mauritania — 2nd of 5: 17%
• Canada — 4th of 5: 2.7%
• Japan — 5th of 5: 0.99%

What this measures

Lending rate is the bank rate that usually meets the short- and medium-term financing needs of the private sector. This rate is normally differentiated according to creditworthiness of borrowers and objectives of financing. The terms and conditions attached to these rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.

Limitations: Countries use a variety of reporting formats, sample designs, interest compounding formulas, averaging methods, and data presentations for indices and other data series on interest rates. The IMF's Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual does not provide guidelines beyond the general recommendation that such data should reflect market prices and effective (rather than nominal) interest rates and should be representative of the financial assets and markets to be covered. For more information, please see http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/mfs/manual/index.htm.

All 12 values

Lending interest rate (%) in nearby economies

• Algeria — 8% (2025)
• Bahrain — 5.16% (2015)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 24.29% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 18% (2016)
• Iraq — 12.29% (2015)
• Israel — 2.96% (2022)
• Jordan — 8.1% (2025)
• Kuwait — 5.03% (2025)
• Lebanon — 10.51% (2019)
• Oman — 5.5% (2021)
• Pakistan — 8.67% (2021)
• Qatar

More financial sector data for Afghanistan

• Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$76.81 (2020)
• DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$67.53 (2025)
• Net domestic credit (current LCU) — -79.38 billion (2020)
• Broad money (current LCU) — 575.74 billion (2020)
• Net foreign assets (current LCU) — 871.66 billion (2020)
• Broad money to total reserves ratio — 0.77 (2020)
• Claims on central government (annual growth as % of broad money) — -1.06% (2020)
• Claims on private sector (annual growth as % of broad money) — 0.01% (2020)
• Broad money (annual % growth) — 12.06% (2020)

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Questions people ask

What is Afghanistan's lending interest rate (%)?

14.84% in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2006?

It is down 3.13 percentage points from 17.97% in 2006. The highest value was 18.14% in 2007 and the lowest 14.84% in 2017.

Is the latest change in lending interest rate (%) unusual for Afghanistan?

In 2017, Afghanistan's lending interest rate (%) fell 0.16 percentage points on 2016 (from 15% to 14.84%). Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2016), the average change was −0.3 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.06 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FR.INR.LEND, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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